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| By Nathan Chantrell, on December 3rd, 2011  Hard to believe that another one of the computers that had such an impact on my life is now thirty years old, I don’t feel old enough for anything I remember so well to be 30 years ago. After the Sinclair ZX81 and the Spectrum that followed it our next family computer was the BBC Micro Model B, it was an amazing computer for its time and remained in use for many years, I still have the same one today (that’s it on the right).
Made by Acorn Computers for the BBC as part of the BBC Computer Literacy Project it won out over the competition, including Sinclair, to build a computer for the BBC to use as part of its series to educate people about computers. The story behind the battle to win the contract was dramatised in the very enjoyable Micro Men programme that was shown as part of the Electric Revolution season on BBC Four in 2009. If you didn’t see it at the time it is well worth a watch. Affectionately known as the Beeb, the BBC Micro was a 6502 based 8-bit micro with 16k or 32k RAM depending on the model, it ran at a relatively fast (for the time) 2MHz and it had a proper, robust keyboard, a plethora of connectivity options and a key factor in its success was the comparitively sophisticated BBC BASIC. Unlike most computers that followed it the Beeb also came with a proper manual, a thick ring bound affair that was actually a proper guide to BASIC programming. The Advanced User Guide available separately covered things in more detail including 6502 machine code and even contained a full circuit diagram. Along with the accompanying television programmes and thanks to most schools choosing the BBC Micro it went on to become the corner stone of computing education throughout the 80s, together with the time then given to computing in the school curriculum it gave kids of my generation a grounding in computers that hasn’t really been seen since.  I spent many happy hours with the Beeb and learnt a lot both in and out of school. These were the days when you were taught how to program a computer at school rather than just operate one as sadly seems to be the case in these days of ICT classes that just teach kids how to use programs such as Word and Powerpoint.
The BBC Micro also gave me my first experience of networked computers, something that would become so important in later life. After one summer holiday we were excited to return to school to find we now had a dedicated computer room full of BBC Micros all networked with econet, much fun ensued and a little good natured mischief (netmess anyone?). A year or so later myself and several friends ran a teletext type information system (using the little known Mikefax software) that was used at open nights and sports days and eventually had a dedicated screen in the school entrance hall. My first experience of publishing information electronically. The BBC Micro also brought my first exposure to computer communications, first using a 1200/75 baud modem and later a Watford LeModem to connect to local bulletin board systems and services such as Micronet800, Telecom Gold and Prestel (often using dodgy logins aquired from a BBS) and look where that ended up. As with many of my generation I owe a lot to the BBC Micro and what it taught me and as many others have commented recently, this sort of thing is missing from the lives of most kids these days. Projects such as Coding For Kids, Raspberry Pi and the recently launched Goto Foundation can hopefully do something to help turn this around. By Nathan Chantrell, on September 12th, 2011  Nearly a year on from its initial launch the Advent Vega is still one of the best value Android tablets on the market, especially when deals such as this come up, but the stock install of Android 2.2 (FroYo) is getting a bit dated now, even with the sterling work done by Paul and others at MoDaCo.com who made some huge improvements to the stock Android image within days of the tablet being launched.
As you may be aware, Google has been working on a new 3.x branch of Android codenamed Honeycomb which is specifically designed for tablets. Unlike the older 1.x and 2.x series of Android the source code for Honeycomb is not yet available but naturally that hasn’t stopped the hacker community from bringing it to tablets other than the few that have so far been released with it and it wasn’t long after Honeycomb first launched on the Motorola Xoom earlier this year before the first unofficial versions for the Vega, known as VegaComb, started to appear. Without official support it has been a rocky road to get it to the point where it is now with pretty much everything is working as it should, there was even a problem recently that could cause permanent damage to the speakers but with that now solved and all the important things working it seems to have reached the stage where it is now ready for daily use, there are still a few issues but nothing that is a deal breaker for me. Installing VegaComb on the Vega is a doddle although it will mean a clean install. First you need to flash the ModdedStock firmware image, a procedure which is identical to flashing an official update, this installs a modified stock ROM that changes the partition sizes to those more suitable for Honeycomb and adds the ClockworkMod recovery system. Once the ModdedStock image has been installed reboot the Vega, connect it to your PC and copy the VegaComb zip file to the root of the Vega’s Micro SD card. Then run the “Recovery” app which will reboot the Vega into ClockworkMod where you can then install the VegaComb ROM using the normal recovery method. Having used the Vega for the best part of a year I was initially sceptical as to what benefits Honeycomb could bring, I didn’t feel that the FroYo experience on a tablet was bad at all but Honeycomb really is a huge improvement, little tweaks like the task switcher make all the difference and the new on screen navigation makes the Vega’s shortage of hardware buttons even less of an issue than before. There is also improved handling of widgets and notifications, improved copy and paste and a much better browser. Graphics performance seems to be very good and I’ve seen none of the video artifacting or tearing that was common on the MoDaCo modded ROMs and the handling of wi-fi is much better, you can leave it connected when the screen is turned off which was always something that bugged me about the stock based ROMS. Overall it’s definitely a slicker and more tablet oriented experience. VegaComb definitely gets the thumbs up from me, if you’ve got a Vega and haven’t already tried it, now is the time. By Nathan Chantrell, on May 28th, 2011  Build a computer from components in an afternoon? How could I resist?
Using only 3 chips and only 46 components in total, the FIGnition is a brand new 8-bit computer designed by Julian Skidmore that you can build yourself. It runs a variant of FIG-Forth and is based around the Atmel AVR microcontroller (an AtMega168), along with 8Kb of RAM and 384 Kb of flash storage and is controlled from an 8 key onboard keypad with video output by way of a PAL composite video output. Despite its simple construction and minimal components the FIGnition is a fully functional computer, you can write programs on it in Forth using the onboard keypad and save them to its Flash chip; access the AVR’s hardware registers, video RAM, system clock and you can even define your own graphics characters. Thanks to the ability to upgrade the firmware over USB you can look forward to new features and performance improvements in the future and the entire hardware design, PCB layouts, firmware and documentation will all be release under an open source licence very soon. FIGnition features: - A Boot-up time of <1s!
- 8Kb of RAM, enough for around 2000 lines of Forth code.
- At least 384Kb of Storage. You can edit your programs and store them for later use, building up your own libraries of code.
- User-defined graphics! – FIGnition is designed to be used practically (within its hardware limitations), it’s not a crippled machine designed to let you print “Hello World.” FIGnition allows you to write a variety of games using your own graphic designs.
- Upgradeable firmware – simply download the latest firmware from the Fignition website and upload it on your FIGnition via USB and avrdude.
- A fantastic 4 spare I/O ports for you to attach your own electronics! Control your own power station eh?
- FIGnition is already 4x faster than the definitive Forth computer, the Jupiter-Ace (which routinely sells on eBay for hundreds of pounds) and seriously faster when running Forth than any early 80s home computer. It’s fast enough to run some classic games and it’s not even optimised yet!
- Programmable in-situ using an efficient 8-key keypad!
For more information see the FIGnition website and the FIGnition Google Group. FIGnition was also featured on the BBC News website last month. FIGnition kits are currently available on eBay for £19.95 inc P&P but don’t hang around, the first batch sold out very quickly. The kit includes the PCB and all the components and is very easy to build using the online instructions, it took me just over an hour to finish the soldering and it worked first time. It’s always very satisfying to build something yourself and see it working and the FIGnition would be a great introduction to electronics for kids, I hope it is a great success and look forward to more interesting developments from Julian. By Nathan Chantrell, on May 27th, 2011  This post is a bit late but I wanted to make sure I was settled in my decision on Unity, Ubuntu’s new desktop. I had been running Ubuntu Natty Narwhal on my test box since before the first alpha so I was quite familiar with Unity and its quirks and initially I wasn’t a fan at all. It seemed ugly, feature lacking and buggy and throughout the alpha and beta period it seemed that it was just being rushed out to meet the 11.04 release regardless of whether it was ready or not. I didn’t think I would be using it and had even given serious consideration to going back to Debian testing for my main desktop box.
Anyway, with the final release of 11.04 I duly upgraded my main desktop machine and thought I would give it a go as my day to day desktop for a while, fully expecting to switch back to the “classic desktop” (ie. Gnome 2.x) before long but it didn’t happen and I have to say that Unity has grown on me. I’m not missing any of the things I thought I would and so far I’m even managing to live with the one thing about Unity that annoyed me the most during testing, namely the Global Menu. For those not aware the Global Menu is the Apple style feature where each applications menu appears in the top panel instead of within the application itself. I understand Apple’s original reasoning behind this feature, ie. the menu is always in a consistent place and slamming the mouse to the top of the screen puts you in the right place but in a modern multiple monitor environment it just doesn’t stand up, that and it is currently inconsistent as it requires every app to support it. App support will get better over time I’m sure but I still think it is irrepairably broken on multiple monitors. Fortunately for those that really can’t stand it, the global menu can be disabled without too much effort but I am still trying to live with it for now to see if I can get used to it. The other niggle with Unity that hadn’t really bothered me until I started to use it properly is the scroll bars. With a traditional scroll bar you can move your mouse to the right of the window and click to jump up/down at any point along the permenantly visible bar whereas with the new hidden scroll bar you have to look for the thin indicator and hover your mouse over that before you can access the scroll controls. It’s definitely slower and harder to use and as with the global menu it is inconsistent at the moment as not all applications use it. The new dock on the left I wasn’t keen on initially and I missed the old task list panel at the bottom but now I’ve got used to it I actually prefer the dock, it seems quicker and gets less cluttered. The only change I’ve made is to make it narrower with smaller icons as it is a bit large by default. In summary Unity is a mixed bag, it’s far from the disaster I thought it would be but it’s not the second coming either. There is still a lot that could be improved but I think it will get there, the issue of the duplication of effort between Unity and the very similar Gnome 3 is a completely different topic though. By Nathan Chantrell, on March 5th, 2011 The legendary Sinclair ZX81 was launched 30 years ago today. It might have only had black and white output with only upper case text, blocky graphics, 1K of RAM, no sound and a membrane keyboard but the ZX81 will always have a special place in my heart as it was the first computer I ever used and the beginning of my obsession with computers and technology in general. I still have one in my collection of old computers. The ZX81 was hugely successful for its time and was the first affordable mass market home computer available in the UK, it kick started a whole community of enthusiasts and companies that exploded the computing scene in the 1980s. I spent many many happy hours with the ZX81. I learned BASIC programming on it and clearly remember the arduous task of typing in programs from magazines such as ZX Computing and then trying to debug them or wait for the corrections in the next months issue, and the ordeal of saving and loading programs from a C15 cassette tape – the addition of an inline level meter helped immensely there. Our ZX81 was gradually expanded with the notoriously wobbly 16K RAM pack and the “tin foil” ZX Printer and eventually boasted a full size dk’tronics keyboard which made all the difference. When my dad bought a Spectrum 48K a year later the ZX81 was relocated to my bedroom as my personal computer where it enjoyed another year or so of use before being replaced by the Spectrum (by then also sporting a dk’tronics keyboard and a Microdrive among other extras.) when the family computer was upgraded to a BBC Micro Model B. Many years later I bought another original ZX81 for my computer collection. Like many of my generation the ZX81 had a huge influence on me and I feel privileged to have grown up during a time that computers grew from basic systems like the ZX81 to what we have today, it gives one an appreciation of where we have come from that younger generations don’t have. Thank you Sir Clive for bringing us the ZX81 and thank you dad for having the foresight to buy one. This afternoon I shall be celebrating by powering up my ZX81 for the first time in a few years. Wikipedia has a really good article on the ZX81. By Nathan Chantrell, on January 6th, 2011 By Nathan Chantrell, on December 3rd, 2010  The Advent Vega is a £250 Android tablet from the DSG group which has been hotly anticipated since its announcement a couple of months ago. The specification is high for the price point with a 10.1″ widescreen LCD with capacitive touchscreen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, front facing camera, HDMI output, USB port and Micro SD slot. The processor is a dual core Nvidia Tegra T20 running at 1 GHz and the custom Android 2.2 (Froyo) install runs brilliantly on it as you would expect.
Hardware
Battery life is great with a claimed 6.5 hours of HD video playback and early testing seems to back that up. Build quality is very good and the 10.1″ LCD is bright with vivid colours and a 16:9 aspect ratio making it ideal for video, it is only let down slightly by the viewing angle which isn’t great in the vertical plane but is still perfectly acceptable. Unlike most tablets in this price range the touchscreen is capacitive, supports multitouch and responds very well. There is no oleophobic coating so it can be a bit of a fingerprint magnet.  Unusually for Android hardware there are no hardware home or menu buttons, just a back button on the top right hand edge next to the orientation lock and power button, instead the home, menu and another back button are on the customised notification bar at the top of the touchscreen. Additionally, a long press of the hardware back button also functions as menu and a long press of the power button brings up the shutdown menu which also includes a home option. Holding the power button for 6 seconds or show shuts the unit off straight away.
The lack of dedicated buttons is a strange design decision and possibly a sign that the hardware wasn’t originally designed with Android in mind. I would certainly have preferred the three standard hardware buttons but it is something I was aware of and can live with. To the left of the power button is the built in microphone which I’ve tried with the Skype test call feature and it seems to be quite decent. Continue reading Advent Vega Android Tablet Review By Nathan Chantrell, on November 14th, 2010  One of the driving forces behind my switch from the iPhone to Android was the ease and openness of the development platform and that development didn’t require a Mac. It didn’t take me long to get stuck into the SDK and I am pleased to say that my first Android app has been published onto the Android Market today. “Sniper SelfTrack” is an application to control and handle responses from the Sniper SelfTrack GPS vehicle tracking device.
The SelfTrack app allows the user to easily control all the functions of the Sniper SelfTrack tracking system from the main screen and will display user friendly messages on receipt of a message from the tracker and shows the vehicles position using the Google Maps API. Context sensitive help is available by pressing and holding each button and the user can select the sound played on receipt of an alert as well as if they want haptic feedback (vibrate on button presses) and whether to load the basic map only or the full aerial photograph view (slower on a mobile connection). Features: - Show current location of vehicle with map only or aerial view
- User friendly display of messages from the tracker
- Customisable alert sounds
- Listen in to the vehicle
- Turn AutoTrack on/off
- Turn immobiliser on/off
- Turn Tow Alert on/off
- Turn Alarm Alert on/off
- Turn Overspeed Alert on/off
- Change Overspeed setting
- Get a status report from the tracker including battery voltage, GPS status, GSM signal
You can find the application by searching for Sniper SelfTrack in the Android Market app or by clicking here on your phone . You can also find it on AppBrain here. Obviously it is only going to be of any use if you have one of the Sniper trackers in your car. I’ve really enjoyed getting back into some non web based coding. I’ve never seriously programmed in Java before but it’s sufficiently C like that it didn’t take me long to get to grips with it along with the Android specific things like the BroadcastReceivers, Intents, SmsManager and the Google Maps API. Everything is so well structured and documented that anyone with a rudimentary background in programming shouldn’t have any problem getting started. An application like this that only works with a specific device is going to have a limited market admittedly so I’m hoping I can come up with something with a wider appeal for my next project – let me know in the comments if you have any ideas for apps you would like to see available on Android. By Nathan Chantrell, on November 14th, 2010  I’ve been trying a new Ubuntu 10.10 (Maverick) image out on my O2 Joggler this week and it is a big improvement over the 9.04 images I’ve been using previously and everything works out of the box without any fiddling.
The image includes all the software normally shipped with the base Ubuntu distribution with the addition of the Chromium browser and Florence on-screen keyboard (see screenshot) which is a huge improvement to the CellWriter keyboard I had been using before. It also includes fixes to the brightness applet so it is usable from the touchscreen and fully working sound through external jack and speakers although this is currently only switchable after a reboot. Use of the new btrfs filesystem with compression enabled means the install only takes 1.1GB of space as opposed to 2.5GB without compression and it includes EMGD drivers v1.5 and working Compiz and OpenGL however anyone running XBMC should note that it currently doesn’t work with the EMGD driver, nor does the new Ubuntu Unity desktop intended for netbooks. Download the Ubuntu Maverick 10.10 image for the O2 Joggler. Linux Mint
Images for Linux Mint 9 and 10 RC are also available from the same site. By Nathan Chantrell, on July 26th, 2010  After over 18 months as a very happy iPhone 3G user I decided it was time to make the switch to Android with the wonderful HTC Desire. As a long term Linux user Android would seem to be my natural place and with the Desire the hardware seems to have pretty much caught up with the Apple world so there was no excuse. Having this great new phone without running the latest and greatest release of Android seemed silly though and not wanting to wait for HTC and O2 to pull their fingers out and release an official update the only answer was to root it and install an unofficial ROM. I was pleasantly surprised how easy this was.
So here is a guide to how I installed Android 2.2 with HTC Sense on my HTC Desire using unrevoked3 and AdamG’s “Official” Froyo HTC Sense ROM (version 1.0c). Obviously I take no responsibility if you follow this and anything goes wrong but it worked for me on my Desire with HBOOT 80. Rooting using the new unrevoked3 is a breeze and a Goldcard is NOT required and as long as you are careful to make a Nandroid backup of your original setup before flashing a replacement ROM then you can’t really go wrong. Note that by doing this you will void any warranty you may have.
Requirements:
Linux PC (Ubuntu 10.04 in my case)
HTC Desire
USB Cable
Titanium Backup from the Android Market
Unrevoked3 from here (16.1 MB)
Updated Radio ROM from here (11.3 MB)
Froyo Sense ROM from here (134.4 MB)
About 30 minutes Continue reading Installing Android 2.2 Froyo on a HTC Desire | |
Hard to believe that another one of the computers that had such an impact on my life is now thirty years old, I don’t feel old enough for anything I remember so well to be 30 years ago. After the Sinclair ZX81 and the Spectrum that followed it our next family computer was the BBC Micro Model B, it was an amazing computer for its time and remained in use for many years, I still have the same one today (that’s it on the right).
I spent many happy hours with the Beeb and learnt a lot both in and out of school. These were the days when you were taught how to program a computer at school rather than just operate one as sadly seems to be the case in these days of ICT classes that just teach kids how to use programs such as Word and Powerpoint.
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